April 2012 Vendor of the Month - Godin

Congratulations
to Godin for being Renderosity's Vendor
of the Month for April!

Who is 'Godin'?

My real name is Valery and I live in the Netherlands. I am a
woman of 39 years old and married to a wonderful husband who
supports me all the way in whatever I do. We don’t have any
children, but we have two cats who we deeply love, they are our
little babies. I love creating art, I enjoy eating yummy food,
reading books (especially about the supernatural, like vampires and
stuff like that), chatting with my friends and watching good movies
and tv-series.

Let me explain a bit about my artist name Godin. Godin
is a Dutch word, in English it means Goddess. The meaning of the
name Godin (Goddess) stands for femininity, Divine Energy and
Creativity. These are meanings I feel strongly connected to. I have
been using this name for a couple of years now and it really suits
me. My astrology sign is Pisces. I am a dreamer, have a creative
spirit, feel close to nature, I am a sensitive and respective
person.

I have always been involved in making art, and that all started
when I was very young. As a little kid I often played with Clay
(scultping), made drawings, and when I was doing that I created my
own fantasy world in which faeries, gnomes and fairytale creatures
really existed. I am an autodidact person and never followed any
course for learning how to draw and sculpt. I learned it all by
myself with a little help from books.

In my early twenties I started sculpting in a more professional
way and also gave sculpting lessons for a while. I specialized in
creating Faeries, Mermaids, dolls, little baby dolls, gnomes, and
lots of other nature fantasy creatures. I really enjoyed doing this
for many years. In 2007, I made the switch to digital art and since
then I am totally hooked on making 3D art. No more real live
sculpting for me, only Digital sculpting now. I really like to
create fantasy images, but what I love doing most is creating 3D
content. My specialty is character creation and last year I started
making poses too. I am always into learning new things and there is
still so much more for me to explore in this 3D World. There is a
whole new world out there ready to be discovered. It sometimes
feels likeI am Alice in wonderland :)

How long have you been involved in digital
art?

In November 2007, I found my way to digital art. I was looking
for techniques about human anatomy and poses for my sculptures. One
day I read an article in a magazine of a well-known sculpture
artist from Belgium, in which she explained that she was using a
Victoria figure and DAZ Studio to learn poses and anatomy for her
sculptures. This figure could be positioned in all kinds of poses
in a 3D environment. So this way you could see the figure from all
angles. I took her advice and started working for the first time
with a 3D program (DAZ Studio), this was a whole new world for
me.

I became so enthusiastic about working with DAZ Studio and 3D
art that I started buying more content. As mentioned earlier in
this interview, I was totally hooked on it and changed from
sculpting with clay to digital art. Shortly after this I purchased
Poser, invested a lot of time in learning the program and really
grew fond of it.

One beautiful day, I discovered the Renderosity MarketPlace!
From this moment on, it really started. I saw and bought a lot of
amazing content here (still do..giggles), which for me was like
being in a Candy store :) Then, I visited the Renderosity
Gallery...and WOW! There were so many beautiful images that
inspired me. Soon I started uploading my own digital art within the
Renderosity gallery. Suddenly I saw people leaving comments within
my gallery. I was so thrilled by this, I did not even know it was
possible to leave or receive comments. Many people welcomed me and
that felt so heartwarming and good! Since that time, I made a lot
of friends in this community.

What made you decide to become a
Vendor?

Well...this is how I decided to become a vendor :) I became
friends with a very talented vendor and artist through the
Renderosity community. Her name is PDesign and she makes very
beautiful content. She inspired me to make 3D content (Characters
for figures like Victoria 4). She wrote me a tutorial at that time,
on how to start making my own character for Victoria 4, and when I
got stuck during the process she was always there to help me out. I
am so thankful for all she did for me.

In this period, I started to make my own character for Victoria
4, which I wanted to use for my own render work. At that time it
was not my intention to become a vendor. I just enjoyed making
gallery renders with the character. After showing her in my
gallery, people started asking if she was for sale and wanted to
buy her. People started to encourage me by saying "you
should go and sell her and become a vendor." In the
beginning I was a bit shy about the idea of becoming a vendor, but
after a while I decided to give it a try and I became a vendor in
September of 2009 here at Renderosity. I still remember my first
product that was released within the Renderosity MarketPlace,
called VH Rose. I was so proud...

Last year, June 2011, I had to quit my real life job because of
my health. Since then, making 3D content has become my regular,
daily job and I just love it! Making 3D content and art gives me so
much joy.

What are you currently working on?

Currently, I am working on a new Girl (Character) for Victoria 4
& Genesis. I am very excited about this new girl and can’t
wait for her to be released in my store. There are a few plans and
ideas for what I want to create this year. Maybe making a Male
character for Michael 4 & Genesis, which would be my first
male, and I am sure it will be fun working on a totally new
challenge. I have lot more ideas but cannot list them all, I think
it is always nice to keep it a surprise :)

What software is currently in your digital toolset and
why?

Poser 7, Poser 8, Poser 9, Poser Pro 2012, and Poser Pro
2010 - Yes, that is a lot of Poser versions, I know, lol! But,
I need them for testing all my products before I upload them to the
store, as all needs to be tested thoroughly. I use Poser for
creating content, Promo renders, artistic gallery renders and for
testing my products.

Daz Studio 2.3, DAZ studio 3 advanced, and DAZ Studio 4
Pro - Same here as mentioned with Poser. I need all versions
for testing my products before I upload them to the store. I use
Daz Studio for creating content, Promo renders, artistic gallery
renders and for testing my products.

modo - I purchased modo two weeks ago because I want
to learn modeling as well. My wish is to create clothing, hair and
jewelry in the future. It might take me some time to learn it, but
I am sure I will have lots of fun while practicing.

Where do you find inspiration for your
products?

I find my inspiration everywhere. A lot of inspiration I find by
surfing on the internet, looking for pictures of famous people,
models, fantasy stuff and more things like that. I also find a lot
of inspiration from watching tv series' and movies, from looking at
other artists' work, and from magazines. And, what is really
important for me, is to have my daily walk outside to get a fresh
wind in my hair and to empty my head and give a place for new ideas
that want to come in. Sometimes, when I am working on a project and
I am on a creative flow, it feels like things just happen by
themselves...it’s like magic.

Could you list any current favorites among the
products you've created and tell us a bit about their
creation?

This is so hard for me to make a choice, because all of my
creations are my babies. I cannot make a choice of which ones are
my favorite, because they are all my favorites. I love them all! :)
What I can say is that all my products are created with
the most care, lots of love and attention. I put a lot of effort
into working on my projects to perfect them. Working on my products
is like meditation, I am always very focused while working and I
totally lose myself in it. It is like the world around me stops
existing and that only the project and me are there. Working on my
products makes me feel peaceful and happy inside. When my husband
sometimes calls me (and asks me something like "Hun, do
you need a cup of tea," or something like that) he has to
call me a couple of times before I can tear myself loose from the
project and hear him. I find it really nice to see how a product is
created out of nothing. The end result after hard labor gives me so
much joy, over and over again!

Do you have any advice for aspiring Digital Content
Developers?

Just enjoy what you are doing, that is the most important part.
Enjoy every step of the process of learning new things, and be
thankful and grateful for this. I always say that when we were
little children the things we learned fast and easy where the
things we enjoyed doing most, because the knowledge was obtained in
a playful way. Therefore, keep an open mind and a playful
spirit.

How has this online Community (Renderosity) enhanced
your work, relationships, and learning?

This community has enhanced my life totally. Because of this
community, I became a vendor and a digital artist, and I now do
what I love doing most, that is, making digital art and
content.

First, I want to thank Renderosity and the staff for giving me
the opportunity to become a vendor and artist here, you all are
amazing and so helpful and kind! Thank you all so much! I want to
thank all my customers for their support and for believing in me.
Thanks to your loyal support, I made it this far, and because of
that I can further develop my skills. I am very grateful for all of
this.

I have made a lot friends in this community over the past few
years and all of them have special meaning to me. I feel so rich to
have them in my life. It is a miracle that I live in this part of
the world and through this community I found friends from all parts
of the world. I learned a lot from fellow vendors and from fellow
artists who I met in this community, and I am so thankful that they
share so generously, their skills and wisdom with me. I want to
give a special thanks to Studioartvartanian and PDesign for making
this 3D job possible for me. If it was not for you both, I would
not be here today! You girls are amazing! What else can I say? I
just love this community, I want to thank you all for being you and
supporting me!

Do you have any final words or advice for other digital
artists?

Follow your own inner creative flow and enjoy doing it! Beauty
and Magic will happen when you do so :) Remember that Life is
Magical!